Hero
by Daniscats
Summary: Even in victory, billions of people died in the Reaper War. There were millions of stories about small acts of heroism and bravery that will likely never be told.


The man wiped at his eyes and stood, squaring his shoulders.

"I can't afford to really pay you..."

"That's alright. I'm here any time," Kelly said. "You don't need to pay me."

"But I would like to give you this." The man handed a foil-wrapped square to her.

"Is that...a real chocolate bar? I couldn't possibly take this!"

Kelly tried to hand the candy back to him but he gently pushed her hand away.

"I want you to have it, Ms. Chambers. I know it might not seem like it because I end up bawling so much, but you really have helped me."

"I'm glad." Kelly smiled. "Thank you, Thomas. Are you sure you won't at least share it with me?"

The man smiled sadly back and shook his head before turning and exiting the cargo container that Kelly had repurposed as a make-shift living and office space. She was a trained clinical psychologist but what she was doing was not really traditional therapy. The circumstances were too grim and the time too short for that. But she could listen. She could let the people she saw tell their trauma to a sympathetic and non-judgmental ear. She knew that the more they talked about it, the more likely it would be that they would be able to get past it once the War was over. Once Shepard and the rest of the galaxy finally defeated the reapers for good.

She smiled again. She knew just what she was going to do with this candy bar. She put it down on her table and walked out of the container just to take a little walk. She walked to the main aisle and reflexively turned her head to the left. The Normandy was not there. It always gave her spirits a little lift when the Normandy was docked on the Citadel, always at the same dock visible from the refugee area.

Shepard had offered to pull some strings and get her into the main living areas of the Citadel but Kelly had refused. Since the Cerberus coup attempt, everyone on the Citadel was hurting and scared but this is where they needed her most. The people living here had lost so much-homes, families, even whole worlds. How could she abandon them?

About a month earlier, Shepard had even offered to let her stay in her apartment on the swanky Sunset Strip but Kelly had also declined that offer, although not just for same reasons. She knew that Shepard shared the apartment with Liara T'Soni. She liked Liara and she knew the offer from the both of them had been genuine but she just couldn't.

At least Shepard had given her a pass so that she could access the other areas of the Citadel if she needed something for someone or just to get away. As she looked at the people in the area, she saw many of the same faces that she had seen for months. Some of those who arrived in the holding area, were eventually cleared by CSEC to enter the Citadel proper but most were held indefinitely in what had become a jail of sorts. The even more unlucky souls were turned away from the Citadel completely, with officials citing a lack of space. It made Kelly angry when she visited the other parts of the Citadel and saw all the available space that could easily be converted into living areas. It didn't happen because they wanted to project an illusion of normalcy so that law and order could be maintained for the millions of citizens living on the Citadel.

In the first couple of months of the War, the Normandy had visited the Citadel frequently but recently, the visits had come less often. They had not been seen there since the horrible news a few days earlier of the fall of Thessia. Thessia had fallen! The mood on the Citadel had fallen perceptively since the news came out. It hung in the air like a physical presence and one didn't need to be a psychologist to feel it. Even the CSEC officers and other Citadel workers appeared different after the news. But Kelly was still hopeful. Shepard and the Normandy were still out there. They would not give up until the reapers were gone and they were all safe.

She noticed that there was an actual ship docked at E26. They must be running out of docks for all the wounded and limping ships seeking safe harbor on the Citadel if they were now using the docks in the area designated for the refugees. Kelly was about to investigate further when she heard her name.

"Kelly! Where ya going?"

Kelly turned to see Allison and Candace walking towards her. The girls were 6 and 8 year-old sisters who had taken to her. Whenever she didn't have a 'client', they were almost always at her container. They lived with their aunt but Kelly knew that the woman was so overwhelmed with what had happened to her that she could barely bring herself to care for the two young girls at all. They reminded Kelly of herself and her sister when they were young except that they had grown up in a safe and loving home while these two were here, now.

"Hey guys. What have you two been up to?"

"Nothin'. We were coming to see you", Candace, the older sister, said.

"We're bored!", the younger added.

"How can you be bored when I just gave you those new books to go through?"

"They were _school_ books!", Allison protested.

"They were very good school books! I don't want you two falling too far behind."

"But there's a war on. We can't be bothered with school."

"We've talked about this before, Candace. The War will be over soon and then you will be back at school. You don't want to still be in grade school when you're thirty, do you? You won't fit in the desks!"

The two girls chuckled at the image. Kelly smiled back at them.

"Come on. I've got a present for you guys but you can only have it after you do at least two of the exercises in your books."

Kelly entered her container first and quickly picked up the candy bar she had placed on her table and put it in her pocket. It would only be a distraction if they saw it.

"Where's the present, Kelly?", Candace asked.

"I told you. First the books and then the present."

Both girls plopped themselves down on chairs at Kelly's small table and reluctantly took out their datapads.

"And no reading comic books on there. I'm going to check your answers."

About ten minutes later, the girls had settled down and were working on their lessons. Kelly dared looking at her omni-tool for current news from the galaxy. The news was increasingly grim and sporadic as the different news agencies went dark. There were no updates on the Normandy or Shepard. She could only hope that was actually good news as they raced to find a way to defeat the reapers.

Suddenly, alarms started blaring. Kelly ran to the opening of her container, Candace and Allison quickly jumping up behind her. People were running everywhere. In the distance through the large windows of the docking area, she could see large, black shapes converging on the Citadel. It was then that Avina's incongruently calm voice came over the speakers.

"Attention Citadel residents. Reaper forces have landed on the Citadel. The Citadel arms will be closing in two minutes. It is suggested that all civilian personnel evacuate in any available operable ships immediately. Please proceed in an orderly and calm manner. Repeat. The Citadel arms will be closing in...1 minute and 54 seconds."

Kelly grabbed a hand of both girls and started running across the way towards Dock E26. Other people were running towards the elevator and the only other exits out of the area so Kelly had to push through the stream.

"What about Aunty?", Candace asked as they ran.

"I need to get you girls on that ship."

When they made it to the airlock door, there was already a swarm of people in front of her all pushing to get on the only ship docked in the area. There was a man at the airlock door with a rifle pointed at the crowd. He looked behind him and nodded.

"Okay, we can take twenty more."

The lucky people at the front of the line started running through the airlock towards the ship. When the man counted twenty, he stepped back in front of the gate, his rifle raised.

"That's it. No more. We can't take any more."

"Come on! You have to take us!," a man in front shouted. "Fuck this!"

The man pushed into the man with the rifle until another man came up behind the first and shot him in the head. He then pointed the weapon at the other people swarming the gate.

"That's it! No more! Back up or I will shoot."

At the sound of the shot, most of the crowd went running away but Kelly moved forward.

"Please, just take these two girls. You must have enough room for two little girls!"

The man just pointed his gun at Kelly before he stepped back and closed the door to the airlock. They had to get out of there. Try to make it to the other docks. Kelly ran towards the elevators. As she got closer, she saw people jumping over the counters at both the processing and the security stations to get to the exits beyond. There was a crush of people at the elevators waiting for it to return. The people in front were being pushed against the doors.

Kelly was trying to decide if they would have better luck waiting for the elevators or jumping one of the counters and using one of the only other two exits from the area. As she hesitated, the elevator doors opened once again to reveal not an empty car but one full of twisted creatures. The monsters began firing their weapons at the crowd in front of them before the doors even fully opened.

Kelly had to hug the wall and hold both girls tightly against her to avoid being knocked over by the fleeing crowds. She was just about to move towards the processing counter and try to push the girls over it when more of the creatures streamed through the exit at the end of the corridor there. They were trapped. There were still a few CSEC officers present and they ran towards the creatures, their guns drawn.

Kelly grabbed the girls and began running back towards the end of the dock. There had to be a place to hide. If they could just find a place to hide, a place where they could hang on long enough, Shepard would eventually save them. There was a strong tremor and the area grew much darker as the Citadel arms closed, blocking the normally breath-taking view of the nebula beyond.

Kelly pulled the girls into one of the alcoves to give herself a moment to think away from the line of fire. There was a batarian preacher there quietly reciting prayers to the eight batarians surrounding him. Further away from them, in the corner, there was a man and a woman holding a baby.

The girls were crying and clung to Kelly. She finally thought of a possible way to hide. If they could get up on top of the stacked crates, they could possibly reach one of the maintenance tunnels used by the keepers. She knew the girls would be small enough and thought she might be too.

The sounds of gunfire and screaming grew closer. They would have to make their move quickly. They would be exposed climbing the crates. As Kelly was about to make her move, she noticed the man in the corner take a small pistol from his jacket. The sobbing woman with him nodded, closed her eyes and held the baby tighter to her chest. Kelly watched in horror, and pulled the girls tighter against her, as the man put the gun to the baby's head, pulled the trigger and then quickly moved the gun to the woman's head to do the same. He then just as quickly put the muzzle in his own mouth and seconds later, all three bodies lay on the ground.

"Come on girls. We have to go. Up these crates, as quickly as you can!"

She boosted both girls on top of the first crate. Before she climbed it as well, she ran over to the where the bodies lay and took the gun from the man's hand. She ran back over to the crates where both girls were peering down urging her on. She shoved the pistol in her waistband and began the climb.

They reached the entrance to the maintenance tunnel without incident, the reapers too busy slaughtering the people below to even notice the people up above. Kelly tried to use the button next to the grate to open it but it wasn't working. She pulled on it but it wouldn't budge.

"Stand behind me", she told the girls as she took the pistol from her waistband. She fired and the grate swung open. She decided that it was safer for the girls to go first so that she could watch to make sure none followed them.

"You first, Candace."

Candace slowly crawled into the tunnel.

"It's dark in here! I'm scared!"

"Here", Kelly reached forward and handed her omni-tool to Candace. "That should be enough light for you to see. The monsters are behind us. Not in front of us."

Kelly knew it was a lie. She couldn't be sure that there were not reapers in these tunnels already but they had to take that risk. Behind them was only sure death or worse if these things started turning their victims.

* * *

About twenty minutes, Candace stopped crawling.

"There's a room. Should I jump down?"

"What's in it?"

"I can't see anything but it looks like just some computers."

"How far is the jump? Can you do it without hurting yourself?"

"I think so." Candace dropped down. "I'm okay. It's safe."

Both Kelly and Candace helped Allison jump from the tunnel down to the floor of the room and then Kelly jumped down herself. The room could barely be called a room. It measured about 8 feet by 7 feet and had two lit monitors on one side but was otherwise bare. The tunnel, un-grated, continued on the opposite side of the room from the one they entered from.

"What do we do?", Allison asked.

Kelly listened. She could hear nothing but the quiet hum of the Citadel's environmental systems. They should be safe, at least for now. She slumped down against the wall. The girls sat down next to her, leaning against her.

* * *

Kelly did not know how many hours had passed when she was awoken by a strange sound and the subtle, familiar feeling of vertigo that she usually felt during a relay jump. Kelly sat up and the feeling only intensified. But that was impossible. This was the Citadel. It didn't move. But the sound could be engines. Kelly didn't even know that the Citadel had engines. She listened closer but could hear no other sounds. The girls stirred next to her.

"Kelly? I'm really hungry", Allison said.

"And thirsty", Candace added. "Is it safe to get out of here yet?"

"I don't know."

Kelly remembered the chocolate bar in her pocket. She got it out, opened it and tore the soft, partially melted bar apart. She gave half to each girl. She then tapped on her omni-tool to try to get more information. Nothing. She could not get the extranet. She tried the Citadel communication channels and heard only static. She knew that they would have only about a day or two before they would have to leave that room to find water.

A few minutes later and Kelly realized that she was hearing scratching and moaning coming from the tunnel in the direction that they had entered from. She bolted up, pulling the girls with her. She listened closer. There was definitely something in there, coming closer.

She ran to the other side of the small room to the other tunnel entrance.

"We have to get out of here! Take this, Candace."

She gave the girl her omni-tool again before lifting her up. She then lifted Allison up as well. She heard the noises behind her. The creatures moved so quickly! Before she could jump up herself, one of the moaning creatures fell onto the floor behind. Kelly shot the creature before it could scramble up. Another shot took out the creature behind it, still in the tunnel.

"Kelly! Hurry!", Candace yelled at her.

They were too fast. By the time she lifted herself up and started crawling, they would be right behind them. She turned to look at the girls briefly.

"Go! Go find somewhere safe. Go as quickly as you can!"

"But Kelly!", Allison cried.

"Go! Now! Don't stop until you are safe!"

Another monster pushed the body of the last one out of the way and fell to the floor. She shot at it. The first shot missed but the second managed to stop it. But another one was right behind it. By the time she stopped the first one, the second had already crossed the small distance of the room and was hitting her, grabbing at her, scratching at her all at once. Her shot missed at that close range.

Another one was on her before she could get off another shot. And then another. She tried to use the butt of the pistol to club them. She managed to get two of them away from her but then another dropped to the floor and ran into her. She fell. They fell on top of her, biting, scratching, hitting.

It was too soon. The girls needed more time to get away. They were trying to kill her and the girls and everyone. Kelly felt rage for perhaps the first time in her life. With a strength that she didn't know she possessed, she pushed the two creatures off of her and struggled to her feet. She fired at the creatures and managed to kill two of them before the thermal sink auto-ejected.

Two more abominations hopped into the room. Kelly hit them for as hard as she could for as long as she could but inevitably, she fell to the floor, overwhelmed. The monsters continued to kick, hit, bite her. They were _biting_ her! She said a prayer to God though she doubted any God existed who would allow these grotesque creatures to exist. _Please let the girls survive. And please give Shepard the strength to kill them all_.

* * *

A week later, Engineer Stevens was checking out a small server room in a remote section of the Citadel. It was a mess but then all of the Citadel was a mess. They still didn't know if they would be able to save the nearly ruined space station. He better record some readings from the area. He took out his bottled water, took a swig and then put it down on the table before he started taking readings with his omni-tool.

He was just about done when out of the corner of his eye, he saw movement. A child! The child had taken his bottle and was racing back towards the duct in the room. He lurched and managed to grab her arm before she scurried back into the duct. The girl struggled against his grip.

"Hey, hey! It's okay! I'm not going to hurt you."

Suddenly another girl crawled out of the duct, not much bigger than the first, and started hitting him with her fists.

"You leave her alone!"

Stevens pulled both girls against him, holding them until they stopped fighting. He spoke to them reassuringly.

"It's okay! I'm not going to hurt you. The reapers are gone. The monsters are gone. No one is going to hurt you now. Shepard killed them all."


End file.
